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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27004696">The Chess Game</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mischiefkingwinkyface/pseuds/Mischiefkingwinkyface'>Mischiefkingwinkyface</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Arcana (Visual Novel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emotional Manipulation, M/M, Manipulation, Mind Games, Red Plague (The Arcana), Sexual Tension, Songfic, Tension, Unhealthy Relationships</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 01:09:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,159</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27004696</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mischiefkingwinkyface/pseuds/Mischiefkingwinkyface</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off The Chess Game from Falsettos.</p>
<p>Asra and Julian get an afternoon away from their work to spend together, and Julian thinks that chess is the perfect way to figure out what's going on in Asra's head.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Asra/Julian Devorak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Chess Game</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lucio rarely allowed Julian any free time during the day, especially not enough free time to spend with Asra. So, that day was beyond a rarity. Julian felt like he had just won a grand prize sat across from Asra at the shop, setting up a chess board between them. </p>
<p>It wasn’t even like Asra was paying attention to what Julian was actually doing. No, he was too busy staring intently at something on the wall that was apparently much more interesting. </p>
<p>“That’s the king. Treat him nice.” Julian reached out and rested his hand on Asra’s arm, causing him to jerk back and finally look up. </p>
<p>Asra pointed to the king. “Him?”</p>
<p>“Use you brains,” Julian smirked at him, “now protect him.”</p>
<p>“Yes, I know.” He rolled his eyes and bit his lip. “Here I go.”</p>
<p>That’s how they sat for too long, Asra staring down at the chest board like it was about to bite him. It was rare for Julian to ever have any sort of intellectual upper hand. If Julian didn’t know any better, and he didn’t, he might have suspected that Asra hated anyone else holding any sort of power.</p>
<p>Julian leaned forward, chin resting on his hands. “Play the game.”</p>
<p>“Please don’t watch me,” Asra glared. “I can do it.”</p>
<p>Julian shrugged and got up to pour himself a drink from Asra’s teapot. He held up the pot. “Have a little tea?”</p>
<p>“Shit,” Asra growled; He hit the board with an audible bang. “I blew it.”</p>
<p>The noise made Julian flinch, but he turned back to face his lover and leaned against the counter with a smirk. When Asra didn’t move, he raised an eyebrow and cleared his throat.</p>
<p>Asra gazed at him under lowered eyelashes and kept his voice a soft rumble. “Maybe you could show me where I fear I’ve lost my head.”</p>
<p>That alone almost made Julian melt. He smiled as he pushed off the counter to sit back down. “Do you want my help?”</p>
<p>“No I don’t,” Asra snapped back, then thought better of it and returned Julian’s smile. “I can think it through myself.”</p>
<p>Julian scoffed and reset the pieces on the way back to his seat. “Start again. We’ve seen the worse.”</p>
<p>“Guess I’ll go first,” Asra muttered, causing Julian to raise his eyebrow at him. </p>
<p>“Just move a pawn,” he scoffed.</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>“Move.”</p>
<p>“Where?”</p>
<p>Now he was just doing it on purpose. “There.” Julian tapped a square on the board.</p>
<p>“Here?” Asra frowned down at the board.</p>
<p>“Move a pawn,” Julian laughed under his breath. He appreciated the confused frown on Asra’s face, he didn’t get to see it very often. </p>
<p>Asra’s eyes flickered between him and the pieces. “Who?”</p>
<p>“Not the Queen.” He grasped Asra’s fingers to shift them onto the right piece.</p>
<p>“Who?” Asra repeated, pulled his hand back. He was looking at Julian fully by then, a smirk tugging on the edge of his lips to let Julian know what was coming. </p>
<p>Julian laughed and leaned back in his seat. “By the saints… You know,” he paused for a moment, trying to win Asra’s game before it even started. He would always lose once it started. “Winning is everything to me.”</p>
<p>Asra just rolled his eyes and sat a little straighter. “Nothing is everything to me.”</p>
<p>“Oh really?” Julian laughed and repeated himself a slowly. “Winning is everything to me.”</p>
<p>“Nothing is everything to me,” Asra spoke with force this time before pausing and furrowing his brow. “Except maybe sex.”</p>
<p>It was Julian’s turn to roll his eyes. “Move a pawn.”</p>
<p>“And power.”</p>
<p>Their eyes locked over the table; the air suddenly too heavy to breathe. It stayed that way until Asra pushed a pawn forward and leaned on the table, Julian mimicking his stance a moment later.</p>
<p>“Good first move.”</p>
<p>Asra shrugged. “Quite alright. Take a turn.”</p>
<p>“Thank you kindly,” Julian glanced over at him before frowning back at the board. No matter what they did, no matter how much time they spent together, Julian could never figure out what was happening in Asra’s head. </p>
<p>“Move the pawn,” Asra mimicked him from only moments ago.</p>
<p>“Don’t-”</p>
<p>“Move. The. Pawn.”</p>
<p>“Asra-”</p>
<p>“Take my hand.” Asra reached across the table to rest his hand on the back of Julian’s. The next three words came out as an order, a hard edge to the syllables that Julian was all too aware of. “Play the game.”</p>
<p>Julian couldn’t help his smile but resisted looking up. “Wow, you’re pretty.”</p>
<p>“Ah,” Asra withdrew his touch. “More’s the pity, since you need a man…”</p>
<p>That did it. </p>
<p>“What?” Julian’s head snapped up just to see Asra wink at him. </p>
<p>“… Who’s brainy”</p>
<p>“And witty apparently,” Julian scowled, his concentration now gone. There was nothing in the world more vexing, Julian was convinced, than a magician who didn’t want to pay attention to the right things. “Move.”</p>
<p>Asra shrugged. “Where?”</p>
<p>“There.” Julian tapped the board impatiently.</p>
<p>“How should I behave myself?” Asra fired at him, jumping to his feet, and going to pour a drink. If he’d noticed Julian’s eyes following him, he didn’t seem to care. “Chess won’t teach you how I think.”</p>
<p>Soon Julian was on his feet pacing the other side of the room. “This game shits.”</p>
<p>Asra shrugged as if to say that was obvious. “Why don’t you just let me win?”</p>
<p>“Oh sure,” Julian scoffed. “Yes, of course.”</p>
<p>“Please?” Asra cocked his head to one side as if he didn’t understand why Julian seemed so annoyed.</p>
<p>Julian flung his arms out and turned away. “Of course.”</p>
<p>“Thanks!” Asra tipped the board over. The crash rang through the air when all the piece scattered across the floor. “I win.”</p>
<p>“Wait!” Julian rushed over to him, prepared to apologise and beg for forgiveness, just for Asra to push him up against the wall and stared him down. </p>
<p>After allowing Julian’s heart to almost burst out of his chest, Asra kissed him. “Checkmate.”</p>
<p>All the tension left Julian’s muscles, and he ducked under Asra’s arms to clean up the chess pieces. “Life’s such a shame. Every move, and we’ve examined every one of them as we go, is just wrong.”</p>
<p>“What do you want then?” Asra spoke as he walked up behind him and ran his hands over Julian’s shoulders with deliberate pressure. “To make dinner? For me to lose at chess? To just bravely acquiesce? To love you? This needs to stop.”</p>
<p>“This has got to come to a stop,” Julian agreed.</p>
<p>Asra wrapped his arms around Julian’s neck to lean against him. “This has been a lousy but fabulous flop.”</p>
<p>“I just need…” Julian turned to face Asra. “All I want is a kiss. Can’t anyone understand?”</p>
<p>“Oh, don’t you start explaining,” Asra laughed humourlessly. “I’m sick of explaining.”</p>
<p>Julian just nodded. “This needs to come to an end.”</p>
<p>“This needs to come to an end,” Asra agreed, but pulled him up the stairs all the same.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you enjoyed! This took a slightly different turn to how I first intended it, but I like how it turned out in the end. </p>
<p>I do consider requests, so feel free to leave any suggestions for future fics. Comments are always appreciated.</p>
<p>Stay Safe out there!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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